Confused about Gouden Carolus Classic recipe

[Remos112]

Hello everybody I have done a lot of research and am bottling my first clone attempt tomorrow but I am confused about something.

First of all I used the original yeast which is very very attenuative this is where the confusion starts. My brew has OG:1.076 FG 1.010 which results in 8.6-9.1 %ABV depending on the calculator.
However the original Carolus states it is 20" Plato or 1.083 OG, in order to get 8.5% it would have a FG of1.023-1.018 again depending on the calculator.
How on earth is it possible to have a beer with that high final gravity with such an extreme attenuating yeast. Also how is it possible it isn't teeth shattering sweet at that gravity. What am I missing here? Is there an ingredient that makes the FG higher without adding too much flavour/sweetness? Anybody any clue what this might be?

Tastewise my clone is pretty damn close to the original, just can't get my head around that high OG.
Thanks in advance, Remi

 

[filthyastronaut]

That's really not terribly high of a FG for a high ABV beer, and it's entirely possible that the average Gouden Carolus has that high of a FG. Especially if it's closer to 1.018, it's entirely possible to have very little perception of sweetness in a high ABV beer. Also, from what I see on the website, it states 18 degrees Plato, so it'd be closer to 1.074, much closer to your clone results. In general, there's a lot more variation in FG/OG at breweries than most would expect, unless they employ techniques like high gravity brewing and have an extremely dialed in system. Even then, product specifications may change.

 

[Sammy86]

First of all I used the original yeast which is very very attenuative this is where the co
How on earth is it possible to have a beer with that high final gravity with such an extreme attenuating yeast. Also how is it possible it isn't teeth shattering sweet at that gravity. What am I missing here? Is there an ingredient that makes the FG higher without adding too much flavour/sweetness? Anybody any clue what this might be?

You need to remember that yeast are a living organism and they are going to do what they are going to do. There are ALOT of factors that can make yeast work more or less.

For instance, wort mash temp, fermentation temperature, etc.

As far as bumping up gravity without flavor contribution you can attribute that to dextrose.

Hope this helps!

 

[Remos112]

Also, from what I see on the website, it states 18 degrees Plato, so it'd be closer to 1.074, much closer to your clone results.

Where did you see this? When I go to the site I get this:

Which clearly states 20"plato, but perhaps this is a mistake.
Comforting though that even brewery's have OG/FG variations

 

[filthyastronaut]

Where did you see this? When I go to the site I get this:

Which clearly states 20"plato, but perhaps this is a mistake.
Comforting though that even brewery's have OG/FG variations

It appears that it says 20 plato on just the Dutch website, on all the other versions of the page it says 18. Probably is a mistake.

 

[Remos112]

You need to remember that yeast are a living organism and they are going to do what they are going to do. There are ALOT of factors that can make yeast work more or less.

For instance, wort mash temp, fermentation temperature, etc.

Thanks for your reply and yes that makes sense! Although I still don't see how a 1.083 beer can end up at 1.023 without loads of unfermentables, or perhaps my cultivated yeast is somehow morphed into a much better attenuating yeast then the original strain therefore leaving me with much dryer beer. Food for thoughts I guess

As far as bumping up gravity without flavor contribution you can attribute that to dextrose.

Hope this helps!

That would boost the abv too though, if I would simply add sugar or dme to bump to 1.083 I would now have ended up with 9.5-10%ABV way above the targeted 8.5!

 

[Remos112]

It appears that it says 20 plato on just the Dutch website, on all the other versions of the page it says 18. Probably is a mistake.

That would make perfect sense, 18plato seems much more likely. Thanks for your input!